thoughts, tools, tips, and tricks from the perpetual intern

Best Types of Voice Recorders

A voice recorder is a great investment for an intern. A digital voice recorder will make it easier to conduct interviews and log information. The many benefits of a voice recorder include durability, ease of use, quality and an extended life. When you have a hand cramp from writing constantly in meetings with your awesome pen, maybe it’s time for a voice recorder.

Get a smaller voice recorder. It fits in a pocket or a purse and sits discreetly on a table during an interview. A quality recorder will have a hold switch that locks its keys. The hold switch is necessary when it’s in a pocket to prevent it from going off accidentally.

Consider several different options when buying a voice recorder:

Price – Ranging from $30 to over $100. Buying a cheap one is easy, though unlikely to last past your internship. A quality recorder will cost closer to $50. Google Products allows you to compare prices of voice recorders on websites such as Amazon, Walmart, and other office supply stores.

Features – For example, connectivity. Can you plug it into your computer via USB? USB connection saves the data on your computer, usually as an MP3. Saving work is important with a recorder so you don’t accidentally record over your last interview. Plan on primarily conducting interviews? A microphone jack may be necessary to get high-quality sound. A less common feature, make sure to do your research before purchasing to see if your choice has a jack.

Storage – Another important feature – storage. How much data can the recorder hold? If you can transfer the data to your computer, that may not be important. Recording long meetings can suck up space. The recorder should have 1GB at least of storage space.